Commercial real estate sales reach a five-year high in the Lower Mainland

Demand for land helped commercial real estate sales and total dollar value reach five-year highs in the Lower Mainland in 2016.

There were 2,848 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, a 21-per-cent increase over the 2,353 sales in 2015.

Commercial real estate sales in 2016 were 29.7 per cent above the region’s fiveyear sales average.

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $12.990 billion in 2016, a 47.4-per-cent increase from the $8.815 billion total in 2015.

“We saw steady activity across the commercial real estate market in 2016,” said Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president. “It’s no surprise that land sales had the largest increase last year given the supply shortages we’re experiencing in our residential and commercial markets today.”

2016 ACTIVITY BY CATEGORY

Land: There were a record 1,177 commercial land sales in 2016, which is a 41-per-cent increase from the 835 land sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s land sales was $7.202 billion, an 81.3-percent increase over $3.973 billion in 2015. Office and retail: There were a record 918 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, which is up 12.8 per cent from the 814 sales in

2015. The dollar value of last year’s office and retail sales was $3.621 billion, a 46.9-percent increase over $2.466 billion in 2015.

Industrial: There were 612 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, which is up 9.9 per cent over the 557 sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s industrial sales was $1.067 billion, a 3.4-per-cent increase over $1.032 billion in 2015.

Multi-family: There were 141 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, which is down 4.1 per cent over the 147 sales in 2015. The dollar value of last year’s multi-family sales was $1.100 billion, an 18.2-per-cent decrease from $1.345 billion in 2015.

CATEGORY DEFINITIONS

Office and retail properties are defined by the zoning according to each municipality and must have a building on the site. This category includes offices, office condos, retail, retail condos, shopping centres, gas stations, car dealerships, banks, community centres, daycares, educational facilities, institutional buildings, golf courses, movie theatres, hotels, churches, restaurants and truck stops.

Industrial properties are also defined by the zoning according to each municipality and must have a building on the site. This includes warehouses, warehouse bays and multi-bay warehouses.

Multi-family properties include nursing homes, highrises, lowrises, and any condo or townhouse properties containing four or more units with at least one zoned for commercial use.

Land includes properties that are holding farmland, garden centres, redevelopment sites, land assembly sites and vineyards.